Gaming website Kotaku have just recently published an article stating how the Legend of Zelda series has never been any better since the original was released 25 years ago. A lot of controversy is in this article as they state Ocarina of Time is not even a ‘great’ Zelda game and write that Skyward Sword is the worst of the bunch.

They say that the Zelda series is not the greatest gaming series in the universe but admit it is not beyond saving. You can read what they say needs to be improved in the series after the break.

1. A Better World Setup

Kotaku says the original Zelda was so good because most of the map was accessible from the beginning of the game. They say areas must not have barriers so you cannot reach them from the start of exploration. Also it would help the game become less predictable in where you need to go and what is in store for you. The world must be mysterious and the Zelda rules must be changed and ‘relearned’.

2. A Dungeon Revamp

Kotaku makes a point in saying Nintendo uses puzzles in dungeons to make a Zelda game reach over 30 hours in length. A change needs to be made as a lot appear dull and boring to complete. The Triforce may seem to require puzzles to be completed but they say this has never been the case. They say there is too much of an over-reliance on completing puzzles.

3. Items and Controls Need Re-thinking

The idea of shooting arrows, bowling bombs, flying a beetle, and blowing sand makes Skyward Sword seem like a game that could be referred to as Zelda Party Resort according to Kotaku. There needs to be a much better design and creativity in items.

They also mention how they think the control setup seems too complex in modern Zelda games. They say Link doesn’t need the ability to jump by pressing a button but refer to the controls as needing to be more consistent and easier to use.

4. Zelda’s Difficulty Must Be Changed

Zelda’s difficulty needs changing and it doesn’t involve completing the game with harder dungeon solving. Kotaku says enemy difficulty should be amped up because that’s what made the Legend of Zelda and the Adventure of Link II so good. They say a Link to the Past was far too easy and a letdown to its predecessor. Modern Zelda games aren’t seen as simple; just simpleminded.

5. Zelda Should Not Contain a Storyline

Kotaku says no plot to structure the adventure similar to the first game would work well in a modern Zelda game. Sequences matter too much with a plot they say which isn’t the way to go. Plots make the adventure bend in ways the player may not want to choose to walk in. The first Zelda had situations and sequences you could break to change the game. They say being able to reach Ganon without ever acquiring a sword was a great idea which made you feel like you didn’t need to be bound to a sword.

There is heaps more you can read about this controversial story which isn’t covered in this article.

What do you think of Kotaku’s reasons for change in the Zelda series? Do you think they are correct? What changes would you like to see made? I’m sure there will be hot debates so write your opinion in the comments now!

There is a lot of interesting info here but I'm just not getting the ideas of no storyline. That would just seem so weird!

RobertStyx

Can't say I agree with them. In fact, I almost completely disagree with them. Only number four is a point I agree with, but even then I think their approach to it is wrong way to go about it. The other points I feel are some redeeming factors about the series.

PeacefullyCrazy

And here I thought somebody had a decent argument.

Nelo

What they want isn't Zelda, it's a simulator like secondlife where you can do whatever you choose — only they want it in a fantasy scenery

Bingo

Skyrim?

Jor

This is like the opposite of my feelings all except for number four. The series is doing fine, and removing the story line would be a great sin and a zelda game in modern times without a storyline would not be a zelda game.

Nafi

Oh man. I think these people just wanted to piss people off. Some of their points are understandable, but no story at all? Nintendo would not go back to that and most players would enjoy it significantly less.
Also, "They say there is too much of an over-reliance on completing puzzles." So they just want it to be action, like so many other pointless fighting games? -_-

weevil17

Agreed!!!!!!! one of the things that makes zelda so great is that it is challenging. and that IS what sets zelda apart from stupid first person shooter games where there is absolutely no point.

Devin

You seemed to have missed the point weevil. He was upset that the Zelda games are not challenging enough, both the enemy design and the puzzles.

Ryan

I for one agree with numbers four and one because that would be interesting to be able to acquire an item earlier in the game by going to a harder section of the map. But that would be hard to do if there where cutscenes because they might fall out of order. But if they could get around that fact, that would be a fun experience.

Callin

If Zelda had no storyline, then #1 would follow naturally. The only reason areas are blocked off is mostly so you can't wander all the way around the map looking for the next cutscene, or end up skipping important ones.

Mack

This is obviously this one guy's opinion. I only agree with the difficulty change.

GuildedBlood

you guys should really read the article. It delves much further into each reason and each reason why the game should change. I found myself agreeing with most of his points after finishing the article. It changed my mind a lot about what get, and what we should expect from a Zelda game.

Sanity's_Theif

This, do this, I didn't agree at first(besides #4) but when you read the article, the reasoning makes a lot of sense and I actually found myself with agreeing with most points in the end, it's a good read

Guest

If you actually read into it a lot more, you would find that he's asking for Dark Souls or Skyrim, not Zelda. If he wants the formula he so much begs for, then don't play Zelda.

I suggest the same for you if you agree.

Sanity's_Theif

It's not bad for a series that's lasted as long as Zelda to try new things once in a while

Ashmic

#5, who the hell wants to play a game with no storyline, thats like 50 hours waste of my time of useless grinding, no thanks kotaku, learn how to make a game, then complain

Devin

If you have a compelling gameplay mechanic, a storyline should be secondary…

Greg

This is just some random website who wants hits so they post random BS like this. All the things they claim is wrong with zelda is wrong with EVERY video game the writer has no idea how the business works.

Link17

I agree with everything except #5, there needs to be a storyline Skyward Sword had an amazing storyline and they could build on that. But I do agree with everything else.

If they want this, they can go and comment on other games. I find Skyward Sword fantastic in every aspect. They are trying to make Zelda, well…, not zelda. They are trying to make it minecraft or something else stupid. Go f**k yourselves Kotaku.

weevil17

hey look it's a zelda hate fan! go jump of a cliff Kotaku

John

They basically want Nintendo to turn Zelda into Elder scrolls. Nintendo could make a game like this as a new franchise rather than completely transforming a franchise thats doing so well and that so many people love. This article angers me!

"they state Ocarina of Time is not even a ‘great’ Zelda game and write that Skyward Sword is the worst of the bunch."

Then where did their review come from, a different site? They praised the game for being so good <.<

Zeldo

this is ridiculous…they want to change Zelda completely when its been massively successful but they're too ignorant to realize it. when something is too good, people tend to do ANYTHING to find a bad in it, and exploit it.

Ivan

I think that if nintendo wants to make a zelda storyline, they should start from scratch and only take a few games that make a canon, then use other media and more games to expand the world…

fiercedeityfan

they are stupid except for number 4

MrFatPaws

I feel like they need to take off the Nostalgia Goggles. Although, I do agree with the more difficulty, from Wind Waker on (not saying I hate it, that is actually my favorite game in the series) the games have been a little too easy.

veeronic

…. these guys should be banned from video games, no story? are you ****ing kidding me??!!
banned from video games!!!!

Scunder

I agree with some of his thoughts, anyway it's a good text. If you are gonna criticize the series, that's the way, strong arguments instead of random trolling.

Toilet Hand

if they don't like why they're so concerned?

Geb

This tells me we have a bunch of stupid people when Zelda games were great the way they were made.

Geb

I played all Zelda games and they were awesome and enjoyed them all. They were so fun I wanted to play them over and over again. Kotaku I think you should ignore these ignorant people. You were doing great so keep it up.

Sorry, but just for clarification, it's NOT Kotaku who is saying this, but a guest writer where it was featured on Kotaku. You know how much they love to play devil's advocate over there, whether they agree with something or not.

B_2

why do i keep seeing a lot of negative articles about Zelda recently? it didn't just celebrate 25 years by being a bad game. Is Kotaku that desperate for hits?.

Hnnb

I need to hand cuff people who screw up the Zelda Series.

Nathan

Hey CorvosKK your message was too late because we all have different clarifications. Ha Ha Ha

It would be a lot easier if they just found a game they do like and leave this masterpiece series alone.

Tom

That's some interesting points, but I disagree with all of them. I was a bit doubtful of Skyward Sword at first, but when I finished it I think it was one of the best Zeldas.

And I know you "can't beat the original" like everything in the world ever apparently, but meh. You can, and they did. All the Zeldas are great, my favourite being WW, mainly due to the massive amount of exploring and treasure hunting alongside the great main quest. Just make the next one longer, ok Nintendo? Good.

Heather

None of these points make sense, especially the one about not having a story! If they start changing the games now they won’t be like zelda games. After all, if they weren’t great, they wouldn’t have a huge following! My favourite thing about the games are the stories and then trying to link the different games together with all the rumours and mysteries. Also if they make the battles too hard, I just get frustrated and won’t want to do it! I like the world set up too. I like the puzzles. I’ve never had a problem with controls and I like having the ability to use different weapons and tools! They shouldn’t go changing zelda!

Heather

None of these points make sense, especially the one about not having a story! If they start changing the games now they won’t be like zelda games. After all, if they weren’t great, they wouldn’t have a huge following! My favourite thing about the games are the stories and then trying to link the different games together with all the rumours and mysteries. Also if they make the battles too hard, I just get frustrated and won’t want to do it! I like the world set up too. I like the puzzles. I’ve never had a problem with controls and I like having the ability to use different weapons and tools! They shouldn’t go changing zelda!

no story are ya nuts why dont ya just give it realistic graphics make the game nord styly have loads of dragons and make zelda zboz ps and pc exusives oh yea thats right theres already a game like that no no no no zelda games are always good the way it is really not much to chang whats next they going to say that zelda needs voice acting and guns nope if they dide zelda will fall zelda doesnt need change but they should still add more to the story more dungeons and more iteams also have the iteams more use outside of dungeons

aaa

Asking is easy, I don't see them propising real solutions. Before critizacing a creation, you should be able to do better.

eee

So they want the Zelda franchise to be just like the first game? The first geme did some things right in cementing the franchise, but everything must evolve. Are they aware 8-bit games were that way not because the designer wanted to, but because that time hardware limited their work. Simply put: they cNowaday games are what designer pretended since the very beginning. I really don't understand the 8-bit hyppe and I certainly don't appreciate it. Rot
in hell, 8-bit w h o r e s

ZeldaPlaya

no story? …story is what makes the games so good. Its one of the main reasons I play Zelda as well as several others. Fuck these idiots. Leave the game making to nintendo

Acostar62

…but these are all the things that make Zelda ……Zelda

trinity waffles

No storyline? What were they thinking? The storyline kind of pieces things together.

Danyelle Greene

that guy is on crack or something, i completely disagree with him. I don't agree with number 4 but that is the least stupid.

randall

Wondering where all these Anti-Zelda Articles are coming from lately. Is this still Zelda Universe? Or has this page been hacked?

Devin

To everybody that's complaining that the article is an attack on their personal lives, ask yourself: did you read the article? Do you disagree with the arguments brought up? If so, learn to actually refute a point instead of just saying that "OH MY GOD THEY ARE GOING TO RUIN THIS GREAT FRANCHISE BY CHANGING THINGS ABOUT IT BY THE WAY I LOVE THE TRAIN IN SPIRIT TRACKS"

Why the hell would they talk about no Storyline… Okay what I have to say about that will make what this person is saying completely stupid. The LEGEND of Zelda. What is a Legend?

Legend:
1. A nonhistorical or unverifiable story handed down by tradition from earlier times and popularly accepted as historical.
2. The body of stories of this kind, especially as they relate to a particular people, group, or clan: the winning of the West in American legend.

The person who wrote this obviously thinks of the game as Zelda and not The LEGEND of Zelda.

ZeroBlade77

What the fuck?

A Link to the Past was HARD!

Harder than AoL, to me!

I think Kotaku is a fucking retarded site full of Sonyfags and Xcocks360 homosexuals! I’m tired of their stupid asses ranting over games I love most!

Keytee

um…. sorry, but Sony and (maybe) Xbox has a good games too… Final Fantasy, Spyro, Dragon Quest, Crash Bandicoot… these all good games.

Austin

i dont agree with what this guy is saying some of his ideas are good points but some of them dont really make alot of sense like, what would a Zelda game be without puzzles in the dungeons i think Zelda is fine the way it is, it keeps me entertianed.

Anon

I agree only with the point about difficulty. The last few zelda games have been a little too easy for me, although it still flowed smoothly.

Other than that, the author appears to want a game like Elder Scrolls. The reason I like Zelda is because of the creativity of the items, of the puzzles, and how each dungeon has its own charm. Even though the world isn't some large mass of land in which we are free to do whatever we want, what the game lacks in content it makes up for by breathing life into whatever's left. That for me is what makes the series like Zelda and Mario enjoyable (though the author had no problem with the latter) and the quality over quantity aspect is probably why I am not fond of games like Skyrim (I admit that much).

Jacob

Doesn't 3. sound a bit contrary to the recent Skyward Sword? For one, the developers themselves mentioned focusing on less items and giving more importance to those currently available. I thought that was the reason why you only had 8 items to use. As for the controls, I could not think of anything simpler than the Wii controls. Really, the controls have been simplified where one button is assigned to one task (B for items, A for running) added to intuitive motion controls, and I think that much was intentional on the developers part as well. So is there something wrong here, or am I missing something?

TnzSki

The problem with making Zelda ass-kickingly hard again is that Nintendo caters to the casual market. You may not like it, but it's true. Making Zelda as you suggest would alienate a large group of people, the demographic who actually own the Wii system.
I agree with many of your points, such as making the world bigger and the story less linear. However, I think the story should stay, as story is SO important for keeping me immersed in a game.
Ocarina is one of my favorite Zelda games, and I think the original Zelda is pretty meh. So there's my opinion.
All in all, reading critiques like this makes me pretty depressed. It makes me think that my favorite series of games is actually crap. Oh well.

ZeldaFan

I don't see why anyone would want to change the story if it completely affects Zelda. The storyline is what makes it feel deep, and it defines Zelda. It almost feels like the one who wrote this article doesn't care about Zelda, they just care about their pointless little adventure. I bet if they made their own game how they wanted it, it would be hated globally as a terrible game with no point to it. Luckily, this person isn't in charge of Zelda, because if they were, everything would be ruined, and we would never be able to find the whole truth.

Keytee

Well… i think every Zelda was hard. I always playing in Zelda because of adventure elements, monsters and boss battles. But that, what he say about storyline was terrible. Story needs in every game,

dark-link121

*grrrr* zelda with no story, h*** no, and ocarina of time, in my opinion is one of the best ones